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The early dreams of soaring like a bird brought us milestones towards today’s flight. A passenger sitting on a seat in a modern aircraft most likely does not realize the everyday improvements, achievements and issues aviation is facing. Internationally, aviation is struggling through financial losses, its competitors, and customer satisfaction. Aviation is also thriving in finding solutions to what was needed, and opening doors to new frontiers. HISTORY The fascination of flight soared in early minds such as Leonardo de Vinci and even Alexander Graham Bell. Many pioneering attempts were made to lift an object that was heaver than air. Flying was rarely fortunate until the Wright Brothers flew the first successful powered flight on December 17, 1903. World War I first took the aircraft to battle which led to great improvements in aircraft, airports, and airline service. By World War II many major cities had trans-world airlines. By the 1950’s, the development of civil jets grew, beginning with the de Havilland Comet. In Vietnam War, jet fighters were first used in battle. The Apollo 11 crew first set foot on the moon on July, 1969. The scare of the Cold War created major development of fighters, which prepared the U.S. for the Gulf War. MILITARY The Gulf War best represents military aviation today. The battles of the Gulf War had most of today’s military fighters. Fighters now can race the speed of sound. The USAF demands perfection in their pilots. A fighter pilot needs to have the capability to overcome G-forces encountered in sharp turns during fast flight that may disrupt the blood flow to brain and cause the unconsciousness and temporarily loss of eyesight. The pilot also needs a dependable and constant amount of oxygen. Oxygen tanks are equipped in the cockpit for this need. A heads-up display (HUD) on the lens of the pilot's head gear or helmet provides information on the aircraft's positions and directions. Manufacturers of fighters compete to supply a government with the best. Today, Lockheed dominates most of the US fighters. A purchaser selects a manufacturer based on the price, performance, capabilities, and the speed of production. The A-10 Thunderbolt The A-10 Thunderbolt II served in the Gulf War as an aircraft that can destroy ground and air targets. The A-10 was the first to serve as a multi-purpose fighter. Traditionally, a bomber could only destroy ground targets. With the A-10, the US doesn’t need to purchase a bomber and fighter; the A-10 is both in one. Like the A-10, improvements are being made to make today’s military more efficient. When a mission unexpectedly becomes longer, a fighter can be refueled airborne by another aircraft. Stealth Technology was remarkably advanced for its time and remains unsurpassed in many areas of performance.]] Also, fighters are now built with material that absorb enemy radar signals so that it is not reflected off the aircraft and received and observed on the enemy's radar screen. This system is known as “stealth”, meaning hidden. The Lockheed U-2, a stealth fighter can reach an altitude of 70 thousand feet and can take detailed photographs. It first was used to search for missile activity in the Soviet Union in the 1950’s. Stealth aircraft such as the U-2 can reach such extraordinary speeds that the windshield gets too hot to touch, even with gloves! COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURING AND AIRLINE OPERATIONS Aircraft manufacturing is a major economic activity that generates employment, wealth and taxes. For many years US and European manufacturers have been strong competitors in civil aircraft, especially Boeing and Airbus. Brazil invested a lot in starting a business jet manufacturing facility. Today it is one of the most commonly used local airline service aircraft. Building the facility to build an aircraft actually doubles the gross cost. To build these facilities, the manufacturer use the services of groups of engineers who design efficient and cheap operations. In 1965, Boeing needed a facility to accommodate the construction of the Boeing 747. The factory was built by 1967 and became the largest building in the world in volume. Airline operations is costly. Airlines carries an average of 300 million passengers annually between American cities. Ever since the price of fuel has gone up, airlines, internationally, are suffering from major financial losses. Efficient aircraft they consume less fuel for the same weight carried and distance travelled. The US government set a 50% tax for all imported aircraft, which almost forces an airline to buy from a US manufacture. Due to safety regulations, there is a high security fee airliners pay since September 11th. Coupled with the losses incurred due to non-operation for many days since and lost passengers concerned with safety has hit the airline industry hard and has caused many airlines to declare bankruptcy. GENERAL AVIATION More than half of the world’s air traffic is general aviation. General aviation is the flight of private aircraft for sport, training, agriculture, weather, rescue, business, and rarely local airliners. Cessna dominates over half of the world’s general aviation. Cessna aircraft are used for sport, training, and even advertising. The reason for Cessna’s popularity is its cheap design, fuel efficiency, and it could be flown with visual flight rules (VFR). VFR is a system where the pilot uses his/her eyes to navigate, rarely using the control panel. Since it is a VFR aircraft, it’s the best used for training. The Cessna’s unique simple design keeps the cost low. Learjet dominates most of today’s business jets because of its advanced technology. William Lear, the founder of Learjet, had many interests in electronics so he built the first jet with an electronic display of the artificial horizon. An artificial horizon is an instrument that shows the pilot the aircraft position to the horizon. Artificial horizons are mostly used when the pilot cannot see the actual horizon. All aircraft, even gliders, have an artificial horizon. Another form of general aviation is the helicopter. The advantage of a helicopter is that they can hover and land in a small area. These advantages attract coast guards, traffic reporters, remote transport if hospitality is needed, and aerial imaging. AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL (ATC) ]]The number one reason the sky is safe is because of the ATC (air traffic control) system. ATC regulated the traffic and aircraft movements in the air and on the ground. In addition to ensuring safe operations and directing flights to their destinations, ATC also ensures minimal flight delays, costs and smooth operations. ATC communicates with aircraft by radio. The radio waves can reach aircraft over seas and remote places by satellite. Advanced technology helps the controller cope with today’s dense traffic. The safety still depends on the controller’s strategies. When there’s a plane crash, investigators, funded by the manufacture and government, try to find what caused it to use that information to enact changes in regulations so as to avoid similar accidents. After September 11th, any suspected act of terrorism is taken seriously. US law requires that airliners have an extra lock on the cockpit door. Also the law requires that the cockpit door is closed and locked while flying. SEE ALSO
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